Mesogobius batrachocephalus

Mesogobius batrachocephalus
A specimen from Gelendzhik, Caucasus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Gobioidei
Family: Gobiidae
Subfamily: Benthophilinae
Genus: Mesogobius
Species: M. batrachocephalus
Binomial name
Mesogobius batrachocephalus
(Pallas, 1814)
Synonyms
  • Gobius batrachocephalus Pallas, 1814
  • Neogobius batrachocephalus (Pallas, 1814)

Mesogobius batrachocephalus, the knout goby or toad goby, is one of the species of gobiid fish native to the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov basins. It lives in estuaries and brackish water lagoons, occasionally in fresh waters also. It prefers areas near cliffs with sandy, shelly or rocky substrates at depths of from 20 to 60 metres (66 to 197 ft), sometimes down to 100 metres (330 ft). The knout goby is a piscivore. It can reach a length of 34.5 centimetres (13.6 in) SL and weight of 600 grams (1.3 lb). Maximum known age is eight years.[2]

Head of the toad goby from the Gulf of Odessa

References

  1. Freyhof, J. & Kottelat, M. 2008. Mesogobius batrachocephalus. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 06 September 2013.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2013). "Mesogobius batrachocephalus" in FishBase. June 2013 version.



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